Hip Replacement Litigation

Over the past decade, there have been many recalls involving hip replacement systems. The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has been collecting data on metal-on-metal hip replacement devices for a number of years and is working with physicians, researchers, regulatory agencies, and manufacturers in order to make recommendations for future use of these types of systems.

Many metal-on-metal hip replacement devices are the subject of litigation where thousands of patients have suffered from unnecessary harm. Due to extensive recalls and the large number of people impacted by defective replacement devices, there are a number of multidistrict litigation suits (MDLs) where a special judge is appointed in federal court to oversee many different cases arising out of the same set of facts or circumstances. These actions may involve large settlement offers from the manufacturers of the hip implant devices. A skilled attorney can explain how the various MDLs and manufacturer settlements impact your case. Many times, a person is entitled to recover for medical expenses and lost wages as a result of the medical complications, as well as receive compensation for pain and suffering.

More than twelve thousand patients who received DePuy’s ASR XL or Pinnacle metal-on-metal hip replacements have sued DePuy over their malfunction, alleging that the company knowingly sold defective and dangerous products. The devices release metal debris into surrounding tissue, leading to a host of complications and an extremely high failure rate. DePuy ultimately recalled its ASR hip systems, but plaintiffs allege they knew of its problems long beforehand and even actively worked to suppress evidence of malfunction. Other manufacturers have issued similar recalls.

While the Pinnacle cases are waiting on the completion of bellwether cases, scheduled to begin in September 2014, the majority of the federal ASR cases have reached a settlement.

Get a Free Hip Replacement Case Review

DePuy Hip Replacement Verdicts

Kransky v. DePuy (2013)

In one of the first suits to go to trial, Loren Kransky, a retired corrections officer, was awarded $8.3 million by a California state court over his defective ASR XL implant. The jury ruled that the defective device caused Kransky’s injuries, but also found that the company had properly warned of the device’s risks, declining to levy the $179 million in punitive damages that Kransky’s lawyers were arguing for. At least one juror wanted to award punitive damages, but ultimately the payout came to $338,000 for medical expenses and $8 million for pain and suffering.

DePuy Hip Replacement Settlements

In 2012, the company settled with three Nevada residents, Annelise Rundle, Martha Bender and Katherine Guy, prior to going to trial in state court in Las Vegas. Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay the women about $200,000 each, on the lower end of what they might have expected to pay. Since then, DePuy has settled several other individual cases for undisclosed sums.

In November 2013, Johnson & Johnson agreed to a $4 billion settlement with more than 7,500 patients, for an average payout of over $300,000 per plaintiff. The settlement is uncapped, meaning that patients who did not take part in the suit, or whose implants fail in the future, may be eligible, raising the total payout. While Johnson & Johnson will pay a huge amount of money in the settlement, that sum is far less than they would have paid by fighting the lawsuits in open court, yielding substantial savings in the coming years.

Contact a Skilled Hip Replacement Attorney Today

The Law Office of Joel A. Nash has the skill and experience to hold the manufacturers of hip replacement systems accountable for the harm caused by these medical devices when they fail unnecessarily. Call our law firm nationwide at (855) 755-2978 to schedule an appointment to discuss your case. It is not too late to receive compensation from manufacturer settlements, but acting quickly is imperative.